JD Vance Blames Renee Nicole Good for Being Killed by ICE: 'A Tragedy of Her Own Making' By Greta Bjornson

Vice President JD Vance blamed Renee Nicole Good for her own death during a press briefing one day after the 37-year-old mother was shot and killed by an ICE agent.

Vance, 41, described the circumstances of Good’s death as “an attack on federal law enforcement” as well as “the American people” while speaking to reporters from the White House on Thursday, Jan. 8.

The vice president, who raised his voice at times while speaking, passionately defended the ICE agent — who has since been identified as Jonathan Ross — while characterizing Good as a radical activist.

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Vance alleged Good was “part of a broader left-wing network to attack, to dox, to assault and to make it impossible for our ICE officers to do their job,” before accusing her of “trying to ram this guy with her car,” referring to Ross.

“He shot back, he defended himself,” Vance continued, adding, “Everybody who has been repeating the lie that this was some innocent woman who was out for a drive in Minneapolis when a law enforcement officer shot at her, you should be ashamed of yourselves, every single one of you.”

Good’s ex-husband told The Associated Press that the mom of three was returning from dropping off her 6-year-old son at school and driving back home with her current partner when the couple came across a group of ICE agents on Wednesday morning.

He also said Good was not an activist, and that he had no knowledge of her taking part in protests in the past.

Good’s mother, Donna Ganger, also disputed that her daughter was part of any coordinated anti-ICE efforts. In response to the Trump administration’s description of her daughter as a “domestic terrorist” and claim that ICE responded in self defense, Ganger told The Minneapolis Star Tribune, “That’s so stupid. She was probably terrified.”

While answering questions from reporters in the room on Thursday, one of whom said, “Nobody wants to see an American killed,” Vance agreed before describing Good’s death as “a tragedy, but it’s a tragedy of the making of the far-left.”

Moments later, a reporter asked Vance if he was “preempting a thorough investigation” of the shooting by publicly drawing his own “conclusions.”

The vice president replied, “The Department of Homeland Security is already investigating this. But the simple fact is, what you see is what you get in this case. You have a woman who is trying to obstruct a legitimate law enforcement operation. Nobody debates that.”

“You have a woman who aimed her car at a law enforcement officer and pressed on the accelerator. Nobody debates that,” he added, repeating a claim that is widely debated.

“I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it’s a tragedy of her own making, and a tragedy of the far-left who has marshaled an entire movement, a lunatic fringe against our law enforcement officers,” he said.

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Earlier in the day, Vance shared similar sentiments on X, where he accused people of “gaslighting” by defending Good and blaming her shooter.

“This guy was doing his job. She tried to stop him from doing his job. When he approached her car, she tried to hit him,” he wrote. “A tragedy? Absolutely. But a tragedy that falls on this woman and all of the radicals who teach people that immigration is the one type of law that rioters are allowed to interfere with.”

The Trump administration has accused Good of “domestic terrorism,” and has maintained that Ross was acting in self defense when he shot her. President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that Good’s death was a “horrible thing to watch,” claiming that the officer “seems to have shot her in self defense.”

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DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin alleged in a statement after Good’s death that she had “weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.”

McLaughlin alleged Ross was “fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public.”

However, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the White House’s version of events “bulls—,” and warned ICE to “get the f— out” of Minneapolis.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz reposted a DHS statement and wrote, “I’ve seen the video. Don’t believe this propaganda machine.”